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REPORT: Edzell Air Base, Angus, Scotland

This visit was a wee bit disappointing as there is no access onto the base, big barbed wire fences still surround it. The kids down here must be very law abiding as there are no holes cut in the fences ! Reasonably interesting wander along the perimeter, couple of old buildings & an empty bunker.
HISTORY:The disused airfield of RAF Edzell, located near the village of Edzell, Angus, was home to a Circular Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA), located in the southern quadrant formed between the crossing of the airfield's two 1,500 metre runways.
The airfield was first established to the east of the village during World War I, and was disbanded in 1919. During the 1930s it operated as a civilian airfield, but the outbreak of World War II saw its return to service in 1940, as RAF Edzell. The airfield served as an aircraft maintenance facility, and by the end of the war held some 800 aircraft in reserve.
In the early 1950's the base housed a small detachment of USAF members of the 10th. Radio Squadron Mobile out of Chicksands RAF near Bedford, England. In the late 1950s the site was used as a motor racing circuit, however only few races were held before it was reopened. One of the last sports car races on the circuit was won by the future double World GP Champion Jim Clark. The last motor racing meeting at Edzell took place on Saturday, June 20, 1959.
RAF Edzell reopened in 1960, forming part of the United States Navy (USN) global High Frequency Direction Finding (HFDF) network, used to track various targets around the world. Up to 3,000 personnel were said to have been stationed at RAF Edzell. The ending of the Cold War, and advances in technology rendered the HF network obsolete, and the base closed in October 1997, by which time staffing levels had fallen to 300 local, and 700 military personnel. This marked the end of 37 years of US Navy operations and 85 years of RAF service.
From 1968 to 1978, US Navy staff from RAF Edzell also operated the Inverbervie CEW Radar Station, located a little over ten miles to the east on the headland at Inverbervie.
£4 million was made available through the Central Challenge Fund over the following three years for a package of measures put forward by Angus and Aberdeenshire Councils, with the support of the Edzell Task Force, to strengthen the local economy following the withdrawal of the US Navy from RAF Edzell.[1]
We are grateful to our friends at Subterranea Britannica for permission to reproduce the following details. Please be sure to review the original reports at the links given below.